Jazz Goals for the ITA Journal

by Antonio J. García

Associate Jazz Editor, ITA Journal

                In September 2003 I debuted as Associate Jazz Editor for the ITA Journal and noted that I was “looking for prospective authors who will submit quality manuscripts for potential publication within the ITA Jazz column or feature-article space. I seek material concerning all aspects of jazz trombone performance and education: improvisation, pedagogy, history, theory, introducing children to jazz trombone, trombone technology, artist profiles, jazz trombone education around the world, resources, advocacy, viewpoints, transcribed solos, and so much more. Manuscripts from women, minority, and student members are especially welcome, as the Journal would like to provide proper exposure for the best works offered by the entire membership. Can you imagine how many high-quality papers are being written every day by some of the most creative jazz trombone students in the world?”

               After five years, it seems appropriate to look back, assess, and establish future goals.

THE PAST

               Here’s a list of jazz-related feature articles that have appeared in the ITAJ over the past five years. Most pass through my hands; those marked with an asterisk were not my responsibility.

October 2003

Writing Jazz Articles for the ITA Journal by Antonio García

Preparing ITA Jazz Competition Entries by Antonio García

Greetings from Finland: Meet the Arctic Bones!by Jenni Frilander and Pekka Leander

January 2004

*The Sound of Success: James Pankow by Steve Wiest

April 2004

The Plunger Mute and Tyree Glenn by Pete Anderson

July 2004

Frank Rosolino & Carl Fontana: Together on Rock Bottom by Antonio García

October 2004

Bonerama by Tom Brantley

January 2005:

Bob Brookmeyer by Edward A. Partyka

An Analysis of Bob Brookmeyer’s Solo on Yesterdays by Rob Hudson

*Lloyd Ulyate: Tribute and Conversation by Michael Millar

April 2005

Focused Eclecticism: The Art of Steve Turre by Steve Wiest

Transcription: “Steve’s Blues” by Steve Wiest

July 2005

Michael Davis: Making a Case for Brass by Antonio García

January 2006

Juan Pablo Torres by Gerald Sloan (translation by Luis Flores)

*Kirk Lundbeck: In Tune with the Swing Song by Bob Regan

April 2006

Learning Swing Feel or How to Sculpt an Elephantby Antonio García

July 2006

Wycliffe Gordon: A Voice for the Trombone by Antonio García

January 2007

Jack Teagarden: His Career and Music by Robert Bruns

April 2007

Bill Harris: Transition from Swing to Modern by Kurt Dietrich

*Happy 80th Birthday, Urbie Green! by Harold Popp

July 2007

Tommy Dorsey’s Phrasing by Charles H. Cosgrove

January 2008

Jazz Trombone and the Microphone by Antonio García

April 2008

Buster Cooper: Ellingtonian Mentor by Bruce Gunia

July 2008

“Dear Jazzy” The Answer-Bone, Part I: Top Tips for Jazz Trombonists—and Others by Antonio García

January 2009

Jazz Goals for the ITA Journal by Antonio García

               As you can see, most October issues we don’t run a jazz feature so as to make more room for that edition of the Journal to reflect on the recent ITA Festival.

               Of the 26 articles above, 10 (or 38%) were written by yours truly. That’s certainly not my goal: I’d much prefer editing fine articles submitted by ITA members. However, when it comes time to fill the next Journal issue, there’s usually nothing in my in-box from the membership. For example, right now I have on file the following from members:

·      a manuscript from 2004 from an author who has not replied to my follow-ups since 2005;

·      two manuscripts from 2006 from authors who have not replied to my follow-ups since then; and

·      a manuscript from 2008 that might run if copyright clearances and draft-rewrites continue.

That’s all that I currently have on file from the membership, and that’s typical.

               We have presented one article of Finnish origin, one by an American who has lived and worked in Europe for decades, and one article by an American author who based a good part of his material on that of a credited Latin American author; so international participation within these 26 articles has been small, as certainly has been minority participation. The published articles included one by a student and one written when an author had been a student. I have not received a manuscript from a female author since the October 2003 issue (though there is an author whose book-release I am waiting for so that I might excerpt material in the Journal).

               So when it comes to our jazz articles, there is much room for improvement in all areas of member representation. I welcome your submissions!

IDEAS

               Here are just a few ideas for future Journal articles (many prompted by me in my October 2003 article):

·      ITA Festival clinic sessions. Who among us has time to attend all of the informative and inspiring clinics and panel discussions at a given ITA Festival? So many of the excellent workshops at the Festival that might reach only 200 or less attendees there would translate into wonderful articles for our many Journal readers. In many cases, the presenters already have handouts that detail the substantial basis for a print article. Presenters: please expand your handouts into article drafts; then e-mail them to me! I annually attempt to obtain from the ITA any reference recordings of the Festival workshops to examine for potentially transcribing and editing them into an article, but often the recordings are unavailable or simply were not made.

·      ITA Festival international participants. The Festival presents a unique opportunity to interact with artists, educators, ensembles, and students from around the jazz world. Is there an opportunity to explore insights of international perspective? Use e-mail to research and arrange that opportunity in advance. Then seek that input at the Festival in order to create an article!

·      Book reprints. While no one wishes to turn the Journal solely into a collection of reprints, there is excellent material out there to be excerpted for the ITAJ when a new, relevant book is being published. It’s good for the book’s author and publisher as well as for the Journal readership.

·      “How-To” articles of virtually every kind. There are so many unexplored territories for a Journal such as ours. For example, take an absolutely essential CD recording of an important jazz trombonist and point out where we should listen to and apply illustrated techniques. Analyze what makes a great performance great; and detail it via the CD cut’s timing, providing very short transcriptions of musical examples as needed. This could be a frequent Journal occurrence, with qualified authors explaining how the most important recordings influenced them. I would like to hear from the great ears in our jazz artist/educator/student world. Get on it, and be specific to the second! With transcriptions of only a bar or two here or there, copyright permission won’t even be needed. Or, for an example of aspects you can explore and notate in a transcribed solo without even getting near copyright issues, check out the article “Transcribing Jazz Solos without Pitches” by yours truly in Jazz Improv, Vol. 7, No. 2, Spring 2007. The article is also available as a PDF download at <www.garciamusic.com/educator/articles/articles.html>.

·      Quick Tips. The best ideas are not necessarily the longest. Do you have a quick tip that has made a great difference in how you or your students play, teach, or maintain the instrument in a jazz vein? Send it my way!

AUTHORING

               I recommend that any prospective author targeting publication in any periodical first examine that periodical for its content and writing style. For example, the ITA Journal, Down Beat, Jazz Times, JAZZed, Jazz Improv, and MENC’s Teaching Music all differ in their approach; and just as you should get to know a music group’s repertoire before auditioning, you should be comfortable with the Journal style before writing. The closer you arrive at that style, the easier it is to imagine your work published.

               When ready to formally submit a manuscript, I require that at least the North American-based authors submit a hard copy and a CD-ROM (or disk) to me via regular mail, with the CD including separate files for the manuscript text versus musical examples, plus enclosing a printed-out hard copy. Because I receive 30-40 e-mails a day, it would be easy for any e-mailed document to get lost in the avalanche, whereas a mailed copy can go right into my ITA Journal file without even visiting my printer. But if you do not have access to equipment to create disks or CD-ROMs, please don’t abandon your idea: call or write me.

               Authors beyond North America face greater mailing challenges and/or expense; so while I would prefer that a hard copy and CD-ROM (or disk) still be sent, I will certainly accept e-mailed submissions so long as I can successfully open the files. Please include “ITA Journal” in your e-mail’s header.

               In either case, do separate your text from any musical examples. Sending a PDF or music file integrating text and musical/graphic examples may slow the review process. The text should be in Word (or similar, editable format); images as 300dpi or better TIFF format (preferable to JPEG, though JPEG is acceptable if you have no alternative); music notation as Finale, Sibelius or the like, plus TIFF or PDF images of the music notation (which are later inserted into the layout). If you are submitting a transcribed solo and analysis, please include a CD (.aiff format) of the musical recording for ITA review and comparison to the written material.

               If using material copyrighted by others (such as musical examples), accompanying permission may be needed. It is initially the author’s responsibility to determine the necessity for permission according to ITA standards, to obtain it as needed, and to submit it with the manuscript.

               We all know human error, much less misinterpretation, can occur in the editing process. If your material is accepted for the Journal, you will approve my final edit before publication. As an author submitting works to various publications myself, I am aware of the time and effort that goes into creating a manuscript and wish to assist you in any way I can. I have never sent out a “rejection letter” without supplying the reasons for concern. If your submitted material is not accepted for publication in the jazz areas of the ITA Journal, I will offer any constructive suggestions I can. Should you wish to incorporate that advice and re-structure your material, you can do so, possibly leading to publication of the revised manuscript.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

               Some of the most frequently asked questions about publication include the following:

How many words/pages should my manuscript be?

               Your material should be the appropriate length to get your message across. We do not expressly demand that manuscripts be of certain length: our need is for quality content. Our goal is concise, effective articles—plus short tips of great value.

What’s your deadline for the next issue?

               The Journal is planned gradually several months prior to the release date; so if you have to ask this question, you’re probably already too late. Let me know if you have material that is time-sensitive, and I’ll evaluate if we can offer a practical release date. Otherwise, simply get your material to me as soon as possible: I may not be sure what’s going into the next issue!

How much do you pay?

               Authors are volunteers (including me). ITA considers it a service to education; but that doesn’t mean there aren’t external benefits for having your material published here: people do read the Journal.

Can I submit my article that was previously published in another periodical—or that represents part of my future book?

               The ITA is generally not interested in reprinting articles that have previously appeared or may yet appear in periodicals of similar circulation size and/or readership. But we welcome the opportunity to evaluate articles that might have appeared in other publications of smaller or regional scope, so long as we have the permission of the previous periodical as needed.

               If you are working on or have completed a book and are willing to educate others about your topic while receiving great publicity, you should certainly consider sending me an informal copy of excerpts you believe might make a “good read” in the ITA Journal.

Do I have to supply the photos, or can you?

               We always seek quality photos from the authors, especially “action shots” of artists, students, and other persons related to the article. But if your topic focuses on an area for which you have no rights to photography—say, an artist from jazz history—we may seek appropriate images from any number of photographers. Keep in mind that you must have the rights to publish any images you might provide us yourself.

If my work gets published by the Journal, who owns the rights: ITA or me?

               This is a great question authors should ask any periodical. A number of commercial and non-profit educational periodicals own all rights to an author’s work after publication. Frankly, this discourages some potential authors from submitting material: if they wanted to create a subsequent book out of a current article, they’d actually have to seek rights from the periodical to do so!

               Journal authors choose to grant the ITA either exclusive or non-exclusive rights to print their material. If the latter, the ITA retains only the right to its own, edited version of the article, plus its design and layout. If individuals or periodicals approach ITA for a reprint, we’ll refer them to you. If you want to use our edited version of your text later in a clinic handout or a book, you can do so only if you have any required permission from the copyright owner of any third-party material (such as photos, transcriptions, excerpts from published works): the ITA cannot give permission for material it does not own. If you wish to make copies directly from the Journal pages, you must seek ITA’s permission (as well as that of any third parties).

               In any case, we require that the reprint carry a brief statement obtained from the ITA office identifying the Journal as the original source. If you wish to use your own, pre-ITA-edited version of your work, you may proceed without ITA’s permission: the ITA does not purport to own your initial work.

How do you handle copyright permissions for the material I use but don’t own, such as transcriptions I’ve done of solos?

This answer is complex but necessary. ITA Journal publication permissions need not be sought from copyright owners for jazz solo transcriptions of up to 17 bars of a standard AABA tune or up to 25 bars of blues (two typical choruses), so long as the entire recorded solo originally spanned more than 32 (standard) or 36 (blues) measures. Such publication falls within ITA's interpretation of the Guidelines for Fair Use and requires only that the author of the transcription provide to ITA for appropriate copyright credit the Track Title, Album Name, Label and Issue Number, Composer, Copyright Notice of Publisher (if listed on the CD information), and Copyright Notice of the Recording.

The ITA relies on the copyright information published on the work, unless there is some immediate reason to believe information is inaccurate. The later discovery of corrected information would not likely be published in a subsequent edition of the Journal.

Solo transcriptions of up to the above maximum length which represent not so much excerpts as closer to the solo's recorded entirety (due to the brevity of the recorded solo)—and solo transcriptions of longer than the above maximum length—are likely not to fall within ITA's interpretation of the Guidelines for Fair Use. In such cases the author must provide not only the preceding Track, Album, and Copyright Notice information but also seek, receive, and forward to ITA the expressed, written permission of the current owner(s) of print rights of the tune recorded (if a newly created transcription) or of the current publisher(s) of the work (if the transcription has already appeared in print elsewhere). Note that while the performing artist may be perfectly willing to grant permission, s/he may have ceded the ability to provide such a grant as part of a contractual arrangement with the publisher or recording company—or may be otherwise unable to declare ownership of the solo, given its apparent derivative nature from the composed tune on which it was performed.

In either case, potential authors may seek ITA's assessment of the permissions needed to publish their solo transcriptions: we will assist as best we can. However, the final responsibility for obtaining said permissions will remain with the author of the transcription. Please refer to the search engines available at <www.ascap.com> and <www.bmi.com> as initial sources for identifying who may own the rights to the tune on which your transcription is based. (Though they focus on airplay rights, these organizations often lead to the print-rights holders as well.) If you have questions about material you’d like to submit to the Journal, let me know.

Thanks for accepting my material for publication. In which issue will it appear?

               You’ll find I will not promise that your material will be in a certain issue until it’s actually on the printing presses: any number of things could occur to bump it into another issue. I’ll be clear with you that I am “targeting” your material for a certain issue, “planning” for it, “expecting” it; but I will not guarantee it.

Can we make this the cover story of the issue?

               Cover photos need not be related to any story within the issue, though they usually are. For your work potentially to be represented by a cover photo, we require excellent art—usually color slides or photos of the highest quality—though there can be exceptions. And again, I will not promise that your material will be in a certain issue, much less on the cover, until it begins arriving in mailboxes.

THE FUTURE

               It all starts with you. I hope you will consider joining the ranks of those who have actively contributed so greatly to the Journal. If you have questions or concerns about Journal interest in your potential topic, feel free to contact me in advance for an opinion, especially regarding transcriptions or interviews, as they pose specific challenges for the Journal.

               You don’t have to wait until you’ve completed a sparkling manuscript: you can check in with me via e-mail by proposing a topic, later offering an outline or “bullet” summary of your key points, or even sending me a preliminary draft of the work. (Please include “ITA Journal” in your e-mail’s header.) Though my sole opinion is a non-binding one (not speaking for the entire Journal process), many authors then receive a greater confidence that all their work creating the manuscript is at least within an informed approach. Here is my contact information:

Antonio J. García, Director of Jazz Studies
Virginia Commonwealth University
922 Park Avenue, Box 842004
Richmond VA 23284-2004 USA

(Note that the box number must be included in the address.)

(Phone) (001) 804-827-0699
(Fax) (001) 804-827-0230
(E-mail) <ajgarcia@vcu.edu>

               I thank the ITA members for allowing me the honor of serving our organization in this unique way. Let me know how I can assist you further in our mutual pursuit of knowledge and expression.